This year’s yeast will be Wyeast 3822 Ingelmunster Ale (formerly known as Wyeast 3822 Dutch Castle), which is a unique Belgian ale yeast that produces spicy/phenolic aromas that are tart and dry on the palate, for a complex beer.

After sampling all the Belgian style ales, attendees will vote for their favorite in the “People’s Choice Awards.” To the victor goes the spoils, and in this case the winning brewery earns the right to host next year’s event, select the yeast strain and pick the 2010 charity beneficiary. Lucky Lab won the 2008 competition and has chosen to donate all the profits of the 2009 festival to the Oregon Humane Society.

When: Friday, May 1st and Saturday, May 2nd from Noon – 10 p.m.

Where: Lucky Labrador Beer Hall
1945 NW Quimby, Portland, OR 97209

How: Admission is free. There is a $5 charge for a tasting goblet, which is required to sample beers, and $1 for tastes. Tickets can be purchased at the festival entrance.

More information.

The code where were are staying tonight is “1214.”

You can probably figure out what brewery I thought of when I saw that.

First, you might ask, who is Bob Sylvester? He’s the founder, brewer, etc. at Saint Somewhere Brewing Co. The “where” in this brewery is Tarpon Springs, Florida. It’s tiny, last year selling about 140 barrels of beer (somewhat more than 4,000 gallons).

But there his beer was on “Good Morning America” Friday morning. The clip is here. ABC had DRAFT magazine publisher Austin Wilson on to talk about pairing wings with beer for the Super Bowl.

You have to watch until the very end, when they are a little rushed. They move the Cardinals football helmet, you see a champagne-size bottle and the host says it’s appropriate to include a Tampa Bay beer (Tarpon Springs is right up the road). It made my day since I was a) at the brewery Tuesday, b) Bob is a really good guy and c) he’s brewing good beer about as fast as he can.

If you are headed to Tampa for the game Sunday (typed with computer mouse in cheek) you could find bottles of Saint Somewhere at Total Wine not far south of the stadium last Monday. After GMA? Who knows?

If you are reading this in Wisconsin or Tennessee you may still be able to buy it to drink Sunday. Shelton Brothers distributes the beer. So if you can buy Cantillon at a nearby store there’s a chance you can buy Saint Somewhere. Bob thinks that’s another reason to be smiling.

“(SBS) is pleased to announce that Bell’s Brewery has agreed to be the 2009 partner for the latest brew in the De Proef Brewmaster’s Collaboration Series. The yet to be designed beer will be brewed in March at De Proef in Lochristi, Belgium and released to the USA market in September 2009.

“The initial beer in the series was Signature Ale - originally brewed in 2007 with Tomme Arthur of Port Brewing/Lost Abbey. Jason Perkins of Allagash collaborated in 2008 on Les Deux Brasseurs. Both beers have been exceptionally well-received by beer enthusiasts.

“‘Each year it is my pleasure to invite a noted American brewer to participate in this series,’ noted SBS Founder Alan Shapiro. “I am thrilled that John Mallet & Bell’s have agreed to be the 2009 partner.’

“‘I am really looking forward to this project,’ added Bell’s production manager, John Mallet. ‘I have several family ties to the area which makes this invite to brew with Dirk Naudts at De Proef even more special.’”

Dunce that I am in spending a morning with Perkins at Allagash last August I never got around to talking to him about brewing at De Proef or the resulting beer. Just too much going on at Allagash itself.

This is a major upgrade from the third edition, the last that was generally available in the United States, because Jackson was particularly passionate about Belgian-brewed beers and relentless about making his work as up to date as possible.

A BA press release points out the “updated version contains listings covering 326 different beers across 13 style groups, on more than 500 pages of text and enhanced with nearly 800 color photographs.”

I haven’t seen V6 — we’ve been in Europe since beginning of September — but the last time I looked at V5 I was still astonished at how new the parts I’ve practically memorized seem and how much more new information Michael packed in.

Quite simply, this is a book that belongs in your library.

The New York Times has story about the trademark issues that led to the change. Brooklyn didn’t see any problems until . . .

Until Kim Jordan of New Belgium, an old friend, picked up the phone a few months later.

“Why didn’t you call me before coming out with this bottle?” he recalled her asking. She explained that she had been through protracted negotiations with the monks of Westmalle on the use of a ringed bottle in the United States. The result was the creation of a joint venture whose purpose was to own and control the ringed bottle trademark in this country. While Ms. Jordan was reluctant to sue Mr. Hindy, she told him it was her duty under the partnership to defend the trademark.

So Brooklyn changed the bottle.

Evan Rail commented on the lack of Westvleteren in Brussels a little over a month ago. The only place he found it was Beer Planet, a store literally five doors down from the apartment (a lot cheaper than a hotel) where we are staying. I didn’t notice it in a pass through a few days ago, and the store is closed (Monday) right now.

However, I did bump into the Westvleteren family at de Bier Tempel, two blocks around the corner and right across from tourist information. The beers are sitting in a crate on the floor, without flashy signs or any reason to see them other than by accident. The Blonde (green cap) sells for €6.50 each. The other two for €6.95 apiece.

You might be surprised to find the beer inside is less gonzo, more traditional. Friends and I tasted it this week alongside Captain Lawrence Xtra Gold, much-loved on the beer ratings sites (and one I was pretty enthusiastic about in All About Beer magazine last fall). It would be interesting to see how they scored were they tasted blind and using style guidelines.

The Xtra Gold seems more like what Dr. Thompson would be swigging from a bottle at high speed, because it is stronger and hoppier (the tangerine/orange element has gotten even more prominent with age; is that all really from the Amarillo hops?). I give it high marks for the interpretation, but while I devote many pages in BLAM to notion that trying to brew Belgian-inspired beers “to style” is a fool’s errand the fact is that Xtra Gold might not be what you’d anticipate if you’ve been in Belgium and sampled a variety of tripels. Flying Dog has put the flavors you’d expect in a 12-ounce bottle and some of the finesse as well.

Executive brewer Matt Brophy and Lead Dog Eric Warner talk about how they did this in a video Flying Dog created:

What do I like about Kerberos?

The flavor. That may sound horribly simple, but the good esters are there, the bad phenols aren’t and while “heat” (alcohol) is a little distracting at 8.5% this beer is almost subdued by American standards.

What might make me like it better?

Were it more “digestible.” More carbonation would be a start. Kerberos is bottle conditioned, but I’m guessing this is in the range of 2.5-3 volumes, and would be better at 3.5-4. Quite honestly, it wouldn’t be prudent for a brewer to aim higher without packaging in a heavier bottle.

When I was judging beers last year in our state fair one of the other judges referred to me as “Mr. Attenuation” so consider that when I suggest that this beer would be better were it dryer, and better still with more hops (adding a bit more bitterness and perhaps sprucing up the spicy character of the yeast).

But that’s me.

Or that some drinkers are under the impression that a tripel is “triple strength.”

Thus I point you to a wonderful post from Martyn Cornell: Everything you wanted to know about X.

Although La Trappe gets a mention the point is not to explain the Belgian terms. It’s mostly about Britain and the history of denoting beers X, XX, XXX and just keep going. But you should be able to connect the dots.

Thiel is returning to his home state of Wisconsin to become director of quality control at the New Glarus Brewing in New Glarus.

Thiel has been at Ommegang since the brewery opened in 1997.

In 2004 he became the first American brewer knighted by the Belgian brewers’ organization Chevalerie de Fourquet (”Knights of the Mashing Fork”), receiving the award during a celebration held annually in Brussels. An hour-long parade blocks traffic around the busy Grand’Place, with members of the Knights of the Mashing Fork marching in colorful robes to the ceremony, which itself goes on for some time.

Leinhart has worked in the brewing industry for more than 20 years, in England, Germany and the United States. He has experience in breweries of all sizes, from brewpubs to production microbreweries to the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Newark, N.J. He joined the Ommegang staff in January of 2007 to develop increased brewing capacity and manage installation of new packaging and brewhouse equipment.